The Path of Honor
by TheLionNerd
Summary: 3 months after the events of Return to Pride Rock, Sara, grandaughter of Simba, is struggling in the dry season, but when Rafiki's young apprentice, Makini, makes her feel overshadowed by her namesake, she goes on a quest to find her purpose in life alongside her new friend.
1. Rafiki's new apprentice

My dad always said that I was bound to do great things when I was old enough. That I was once going to take his place as ruler of the Pridelands. I was going to be known as the QUEEN of the pridelands. Well, with the current weather, I couldn't be any less confident with that statement.

Who am I? Well, my name is Sarabi, or Sara, Princess of the Pridelands and granddaughter of Simba, one of the greatest kings in the history of the Pridelands itself. The only problem is that my dad, King Shujaa, is a bit...weird. You see, months before I was born, my great-grandmother who I was named after ended up dying at the hands of an evil lioness named Niagh. It really never left my dad until a couple of months ago, when he finally got over it and accepted the past.

Now, I am walking through the Pridelands as the dry ground is starting to harden. Yes, it's the dry season, my first one in fact. My dad said that it would be the month of June where he comes from, as the dry season starts around that time. In the meantime, I am looking for my Uncle Kion, leader of The Lion Guard.

''Uncle Kion?'' I asked to nobody, ''Uncle Kion!?''

I growled in frustration before sighing. My Uncle is probably fulfilling his duties with The Lion Guard right now and I am just going to keep walking my merry wa-

''Hello there!'' A voice said, causing me to look up and see a young mandrill, leading to me jumping back in surprise.

''AH!'' I shouted, falling on my hind as the mandrill looked starstruck.

''You're the King's daughter, aren't you?'' The mandrill asked and I slowly nodded, ''Cool!''

''And you are…?'' I asked in confusion and the mandril smiled.

''I'm Makini, Rafiki's new apprentice!'' The mandrill, apparently named Makini, replied, ''You must be Sarabi!''

''Yeah..'' I said, ''But everyone calls me Sara and I honestly prefer that over my birth name.''

''Why?''

''I…'' I started, but sighed, ''I don't know.''

But to my confusion, Makini started hopping around.

''Well, no need to be sad! I'm heading to Rafiki's tree right now to begin my training! Wanna come?'' Makini asked, ''I'm gonna be training to be a Royal Mjuzi! A knowledge keeper of the Pride Lands, just like him!''

As Makini squealed in excitement, I rolled my eyes with a smile. The two of us might get along after all…

* * *

''It's so cool how Rafiki can talk to the lions of the past.'' Makini said admirably as we approached Rafiki's tree, ''What if everyone finds out?''

''Then they won't leave the guy alone.'' I answered, ''The animals are rather...sensitive. If they learned that Rafiki can talk to the lions of the past, they'll come seeking advice twice as much as they already do.''

''Oh..'' Makini said before putting her arms behind her back, ''That may be true.''

When we managed to reach Rafiki's tree, the mandrill in question dropped down and greeted us.

''Ahah!'' Rafiki shouted, ''Makini! Sarabi!''

''Hey, Rafiki.'' I said as I accepted the hug he gave me before he went to Makini, ''She won't stop bugging me about being your apprentice.''

''It's just so exciting!'' She shouted in joy before going all hyperactive, ''So when are we starting?''

''We are starting soon, young one.'' Rafiki said, but raised a finger, ''But first...you must find a staff.''

''A...staff?'' I asked as Makini grinned.

''A bakora staff.'' Makini explained, ''It's what Rafiki has in his hand!''

''It aids in de speaking of the lions of the past.'' Rafiki added, ''Though more often den not, I use it for ceremonies, including your birth ceremony.''

Rafiki said 'including your birth ceremony' while poking my chest with the staff, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

''It looks so..insignificant.'' I pointed out, ''It looks like a normal stick.''

''No more talking!'' Rafiki said, cutting me off before looking at Makini, ''Now, go find a staff!''

''You got it!'' She said before running off.

''Hey, wait up!'' I said, chasing after her.

* * *

Well, I can safely say Makini likes to be picky with the staffs she wants.

I say that because we are currently in what feels like a field of broken off branches and sticks that she could use as a staff.

"Are you my staff?" She asked a rather large stick before shrugging and throwing it, then grabbing an even bigger one and almost falling until I managed to stop her with a paw, "Huh?"

"Makini." I said with a chuckle as the mandrill looked at me, "You might want to find a smaller staff. Those sticks are much taller than you are."

''Oh...right.'' Makini said, laughing nervously.

''Besides, there are plenty of smaller sticks over there.'' I added, gesturing towards a pile of small sticks.

As Makini walked over to it, I heard rustling in the bushes. Curious, I stopped her by stopping her tail with my paw.

"Ow! Sara…" She said disappointingly, "What's the big deal?"

''Be quiet for a minute.'' I whispered. When she opened her mouth, I gave her a stern look, causing her to stop, ''I heard something.''

As the two of us were silent, a cobra came out of the bushes with a curious look.

''Who are you?'' I asked the cobra, who did a bow that cobras do, apparently.

''I am Ushari, Princess Sara.'' He said, ''And I come with quite an...interesting question...for your mandrill friend.''

This introduction caused me and Makini to look at each other.

''What do you need her for?'' I asked him as he chuckled.

''I am wondering if it is possible to speak with dark lions of the past. As I have heard that Rafiki has the ability to speak with the lions of past eras.'' Ushari explained.

''I mean…'' Makini started, but was doubtful, ''I could…''

I put a paw on the mandrill's small left shoulder with a smile.

''Just try it, Makini.'' I said, ''What can go wrong?''

After a few moments, Makini smiled.

''Okay!'' She said, ''I'll go ask him right now!''

As she ran off with her staff to find Rafiki, I decided to take a trip to the waterhole...or at least, what's left of it since the dry season gutted the waterhole quite badly.

* * *

As I reached the waterhole, I noticed a group of animals, which included my mother, Kiara, Tiffu, Zuri and other species. I looked at what used to be the waterhole, seeing animals drink what was left of the water. Saddened by all of this, I walked over to my mom and sat down.

"Dry season is hitting us hard, huh mom?" I asked her as she nodded.

"We've had several dry seasons in our history, but we haven't had one like this since the days of Mohatu." She explained, "Though ours wasn't as bad."

"Yeah…" I sighed before looking at her, "Do you ever feel overshadowed by our family?"

"You tend to be depending on the significance of their rules and jobs, Sara." She replied before looking back at me, "Why do you ask?"

"I was talking to Rafiki's apprentice, Makini, and she brought up how i'm the daughter of royalty...but I always feel overshadowed by my namesake." I explained, "Sometimes I feel that my only purpose is to be a reminder of dad's past."

This revelation caused my mom to smile lovingly.

"Sarabi…" She said softly, "Your purpose within the pride is to be their next queen...but you can give yourself a new purpose until that time comes. Everyone is the hero of their own story and will always go on a quest to do what they feel suits them. I encourage you to find a purpose within yourself to get out of the shadow you feel you're in."

My eyes watered as I smiled.

"Thanks, mom." I said before turning back to where I came from, as Makini should have been done by now.

Let's just hope nothing bad happened.

 **Boom, new story!**

 **Next Time: Kidnapped Princess! When Sara is captured by Janja's clan in an effort to summon Scar, she looks to find a way out as The Lion Guard rushes to the scene.**


	2. Kidnapped Princess

Ah, just as I thought.

I managed to find Makini sitting on the ground surrounded by bushes, not really doing much. Smiling, I approached the mandrill and sat down.

''Anything?'' I asked her as she nodded.

''Turns out that it's possible for dark lions to be summoned, but specific tasks must be done to do so.'' Makini explained, ''Apparently, rather than appear in clouds, they appear in fire and are able to be spoken to by using the bakora staff.''

''That's all I needed to know.'' I heard a voice say as a group of hyena popped out of the bushes and surrounded us, then saw a male hyena approach me, ''So you're Sarabi, or 'Sara', as you like to be called?''

''How do you-?'' I started, but narrowed my eyes, ''Who are you, hyena?''

''My name is Janja.'' He said, then had his hyenas surround me specifically, ''And we have quite some use for you in our...idea. Starting with this.''

As two hyenas bit my back legs, I fell on my stomach from it as Ushari, the cobra from earlier, snatched up Makini's staff and began squeezing her.

''Now..'' Janja started, ''You are either going to come with us...or we'll make sure that your friend never makes it out of here.''

As my eyes widened, I watched Ushari squeeze Makini harder, causing her to scream in pain. Quickly, I caved.

''Okay! Okay! I'll come..'' I said as both Janja and Ushari smirked, ''Just let her go.''

''Smart choice, kid.'' Janja said with a chuckle before turning to Ushari, ''Let the monkey go.''

''I'm a mand-OOF!'' Makini said as Ushari released her, then Makini looked at me, ''What about yo-''

From the look of my eye, she knew that I wanted her to get The Lion Guard to stop Janja. Nodding, she ran off as I was taken away by Janja's clan.

* * *

Turns out that the Outlands have a volcano...something that dad never told me. He told me that the Outlands was nothing more than dry labyrinths and open land, as he had been there many times. But I digress, as I was chucked into a pit by Janja's clan that had geysers all over it, causing my ears to go down. Perfect..geysers..

''Hope you have a little fun down there, Princess.'' Janja taunted with a smirk, ''You're gonna need it when I bring back a legend!''

''Hey, wait!'' I shouted, but Janja was already walking away, causing me to curse to myself. Of course Ushari would be collaborating with a bad guy...it made sense. He was asking Makini and I for information about a possible summoning of dark lions, but I hadn't seen the bigger picture nor doubted the cobra. He was using us to forward he and Janja's agenda.

As I put my paw over a geyser, it blew steam and hot war, causing my eyes to shoot wide and instantly pull back my paw, shaking it to get the feel off while two of Janja's cronies laughed from above. Smirking, I looked to them.

''What's so funny, no-brainer?'' I asked the hyenas, intending to get into their head to aid me in some way, ''Rendering yourself Janja's stooges just because he's your clan leader?''

At the taunting, one of the hyenas stepped up, He seemed rather intelligent and chuckled.

''Trust me...I know what you're trying to do, lion.'' He said, ''And it won't work on us.''

''Uh...what is she trying to do?'' A bigger hyena asked, causing the smart one to roll his eyes.

''She's trying to get into our head, you dolt!'' He said with a growl, ''Can't you see that, Chungu?''

''Sorry, Hasira…'' Chungu apologized to the hyena named Hasira, apparently.

Looking around, I tried to find a way to pass through the geysers without getting myself burnt, but couldn't as I growled. This is harder than I thought.

* * *

….Darn, this is boring..

I was laying down between the geysers at the only comfortable spot after 10 minutes of being captured, tapping my claws on the ground as I had my paw on my chin. However, the two hyenas watching me, who I speculated were Chungu and Cheezi, from what the others called them, decided to speak.

''You looked bored.'' Chungu pointed out, causing me to roll my eyes.

''Gee, you think?'' I asked sarcastically, but Chungu didn't catch on it, bafflingly enough.

''Yeah.'' He replied before turning to Cheezi, ''What should we do?''

''Oh, I know! I know! Let's ENTERTAIN her!'' Cheezi replied to him, ''With a little song!''

At their words, I thought of an idea. From observation, I could see that Chungu and Cheezi are easily manipulated and not very smart. This knowledge could allow me to trick them into revealing Janja's plans.

''Hey, hyenas.'' I called to them, causing them to look at me, ''So who is this 'legend'?''

''It's Scar!'' Cheezi said while laughing, ''We're looking to use you to lure Kion in so he can help us with his roar! Then use the mandrill's staff to talk to him!''

So that's that they want...this isn't good….wait..

''What do you mean by 'bring back'? Scar is dead.'' I said, causing them to look at each other, ''...Right?''

''Well, yeah, but Janja plans to speak to dark lions! So he wants to speak to Scar!'' Cheezi replied before he heard Janja walking over, then instantly shut up.

'Mzingo just told me The Lion Guard is coming this way.'' Janja told them, ''Get into position!''

''No!'' I shouted, though I knew The Guard would do their best.

''Sorry, kid, but we got a Guard to catch!'' Janja cackled before running off after his hyenas.

* * *

A few minutes later, I saw Janja running back to where I was, being chased by my uncle Kion. As I was about to warn him, The Lion Guard busted into my location in order to save me, but I had a panicked look, which was noticed by Beshte.

"What's wrong?" Beshte asked I tried to form a coherent sentence.

"It's Janja! My uncle is falling right into his trap as a part of his plan!" I shouted, "He's wanting to use his roar to summon Scar!"

"Hapana!" Ono shouted in shock before flying towards Kion, but it was too late as Kion roared ferociously, knocking him back, though I managed to catch him with my teeth.

However, a volcanic eruption caused lava to start flowing towards us, immediately leading to us running out as Kion did the same.

* * *

The lava was a little too close for my liking.

I say this because the darn thing was closing in on us as we were getting close to the pridelands. With Kion now with us, we started to go faster, with us slowly getting further from the lava. Kion noticed my exhausted look and slowing down, quickly chucking me onto his back.

"You really need to exercise more, niece." He joked, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Not my fault we're running from an erupting volcano." I countered, giving him a sharp gaze, which caused him to gulp.

"W-Well, I guess I overreacted at Janja's taunting." He admitted, but saw we reached the pridelands, allowing us to break the log that we used, successfully causing the lava to drop into the river that my dad said Kion nearly drowned in, slowly turning it to lava.

As we observed the sight, I growled and turned to my uncle.

"This is ridiculous! You fell right into his plans!" I yelled, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

"'Plans'?" He asked, causing me to sigh.

"Janja wanted to use your roar and Makini's staff to summon Scar and now that he did both, I believe Scar has now been summoned, allowing for more trouble than the hyenas." I said, looking back at the outlands.

"Far more trouble…"

 **NEXT TIME: When two gorilla princes visit the pridelands, but can't find their way back, Sara, Makini and The Lion Guard try to help, but Sara and Kion's strained relationship might be a holdback on the quest.**


	3. Journey to the Theluji Mountains

Well, this was a crappy situation.

I was called to the peak of pride rock by my dad, who was likely not happy with me after the stunt I pulled, trusting a cobra as manipulative as Ushari. While he, mom, grandpa and grandma shouted at Uncle Kion for letting his anger almost bury us in lava.

As I walked up, I heard a booming voice.

''Hurry up, Sarabi.'' My dad said, calling me by my full name, something he almost NEVER does. I sped up a bit and slowly sat next to him as he sighed, then looked at me, ''You know what i'm going to say, don't you?''

''Yeah…'' I sighed, ''You're going to say that since I went off alone and trusted a manipulative Cobra, I got myself hurt and captured by Janja.''

''Exactly.'' He said, ''While I have no problem with you going off on your own, I don't want you to get hurt. I already lost one Sarabi, no way i'm losing another one, especially the one who is my daughter.''

At that, I blinked, but cleared my throat and stood firmly.

''Dad, there's more to this Ushari than just being manipulative. While in The Outlands, I tricked Chungu and Cheezi into revealing me their plans.'' I started, ''Janja and Ushari planned to summon Scar by using Uncle Kion's roar to cause the eruption, allowing them to toss Makini's staff into the lava.''

''And since all of that was accomplished, that means that Scar was already summoned.'' He realized, then sighed, ''But back to the point. You endangered not only your life, but Makini's. You put both of yourselves in danger for trusting Ushari and letting your curiosity getting the better of you, which would normally lead to bad things, as today proved.''

''But you let you and mom's curiosity get the better of you when you were younger, from what Grandma and Grandpa told me, did you?'' I asked, causing him to stammer.

''W-Well yes, but that was us.'' He said, ''We learned from the mistakes and learned to not trust strangers.''

He then closed his eyes before looking down at me, as I was roughly half his size.

''What I want you to know is that even if you put yourself and others in danger due to inheriting your..mother's curiosity, per say, we will always love you and never punish you heavily for anything.'' He said, ''But please, just please, don't put yourself in this kind of danger again...promise?''

He had a pleading look, which I never really saw from him, but I smiled and nodded.

''I promise.'' I replied, causing him to nuzzle me and walk off.

''You better…'' He sighed, but quickly had a soft mood, ''Anyway, time to go to bed.''

''But daaad…'' I said with an annoyed tone, but he chuckled.

''Come on, squirt.'' He insisted, ''You had a long day today and it's getting late anyways, so might as well go.''

''Wait, I need to ask you something.'' I said and he turned to me with a curious expression, causing me to sigh sadly, ''I feel overshadowed by Great-Grandma Sarabi…I don't know why, but it's just giant shoes to fill as a descendant that's literally named after her. It makes me feel unspecial compared to her.''

But he wrapped an arm around me.

''I thought the same about your grandfather.'' He revealed, ''Since Simba left such a big impact on The Pridelands, I felt that I could never meet his expectations, but I still went through and tried to leave a mark on the kingdom. Just because you're the next-in-line or descendant of a Great Queen doesn't mean that you are overshadowed. Just remember that and believe that you can do so much more.''

He then walked off as I looked at the moon.

* * *

Huh..wuh?

I got up and noticed my fur was wet. Curious, I looked up and saw it was raining...but why? It didn't show signs of raining when I was with dad. I looked and noticed that trees were burnt and dead everywhere, causing me to walk towards Pride Rock...but when I got there, I saw something that horrified me.

Lioness bodies everywhere as I slowly walked past them, identifying them all by memory. Lionesses like Armani and Vitani were laid out with blood around them, surrounding the den. Confused, I crept inside to see what happened...and saw my family...all dead in front of me.

Quickly, I sprinted to my parents with tears in my eyes, looking at my entire family. My mom, dad, grandma, grandpa and great-grandma...all just...gone. I had absolutely no words for the sight. Everyone I ever loved was dead. But wait..where's Uncle Kion?

I ran outside again rushed to the lair of The Lion Guard for that question to be answered and saw them heavily injured. I quickly went over to them and helped my Uncle and Fuli up.

''What happened?'' I asked and his eyes widened.

''How did you not get found?'' He asked in shock, causing me to raise an eyebrow, ''Scar came with the entire population of The Outlands...killed everyone but us and apparently...you.''

I looked down in horror until I full out cried, then roared in anguish before I suddenly sprang awake, having been in a nightmare.

I looked around and saw that everyone was okay, but I still had tears in my eyes. Seeing they were okay, I sighed and went back to sleep, hoping that kind of dream never happened again.

* * *

The next day, I tiredly woke up to the sound of talking coming from outside of the cave. Yawning, I looked to my sides and noticed my parents were gone. Guess they're outside. I walked out of the cave and was approached by my mom and dad.

''Well, guess you're going to be doing diplomacy, my princess.'' My dad said, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

''What do you mean by 'doing diplomacy'? You mean I have to go outside of the Pridelands?'' I asked and my mom nodded, then showed me two animals that my dad said were called Gorillas.

''These are princes Hafifu and Majinuni.'' She said, ''They are from the Theluji Mountains, a border kingdom that isn't suffering from the dry season, but rather having the opposite effect, having winter come rather early. Your father and I need you to go with The Lion Guard to guide the princes back to their home and deliver a peace message to King Sokwe.''

At the mention of Gorillas in snowy conditions caused me to raise a skeptical eyebrow.

''But dad said that Gorillas only live in tropical areas of Africa.'' I pointed out, ''How can they survive in the cold, snowy mountains described?''

''This is something baffling to even me.'' My dad answered, ''But regardless, I need you to go with them and if you want, bring Makini along. I'm sure Rafiki has taught her some healing capabilities, so she might be useful on this journey.''

I nodded and ran off to get Makini.

* * *

Wasn't too hard to find her as I heard her excited shouting and Rafiki's calm voice while I climbed up the tree, eventually managing to get to where they were, causing Makin to run towards me.

''Sara!'' She shouted in glee, ''Ono told me that you were going to come here...but for what?''

''Well, Makini, I my parents are letting me bring you along for a journey to the Theluji mountains with The Lion Guard. Are you wanting to come?'' I asked her and she quickly nodded.

''Would be a great new experience as Rafiki's apprentice!'' Makini said excitedly, '' Travelling to other lands with my friend in order to get wiser with other species!''

I chuckled at the enthusiasm.

''Well, we'll only be leading Gorilla princes back to the mountains, so we won't be there for that long.'' I informed her, but even I knew that the journey would likely be longer than my mom and dad told me it would be.

''It doesn't matter! I get to go exploring! Now let's go!'' She said, jumping off of the tree and running towards the Lair of The Lion Guard as I ran after her.

''Hey, wait!''

* * *

We managed to get back to the lair as The Lion Guard walked out, causing me to lock eyes with my uncle. Both the guard and Makini stopped in confusion as my Uncle Kion looked at me regretfully.

"Look, I'm sorry for what happened at the ou-" He started, but I stopped him.

"Forget it. I just want to get to Theluji Mountains for diplomacy, get back and everything will be fine and dandy so I can get some sleep after being woken up at 7:00 in the morning." I sighed, using the terms of telling the time of day where he comes from.

Kion looked at me with a worried expression, but turned to the guard and motions for them to go, causing them to do so with Makini hopping on my back and me following them.

It's going to be cold out there, isn't it?

* * *

Thank god my fur is helping me with this cold or I would have frozen to death.

Makini, however, was not so lucky, as I had her wrap up in my tail to shield her from the cold. As I looked ahead, I saw The Lion Guard leading the Princes forward as the Princes did immature stuff. As I noticed what they were doing, I growled and went over to them.

''You two!'' I shouted, causing them to look at me, ''You're supposed to be princes, but don't even have enough sense to act your position?!''

''Well…'' Hafifu started, scratching the back of his head as I sighed and looked at my Uncle.

''How much further?'' I asked him with a groan, causing him to roll his eyes.

''Quite a bit…'' He sighed, ''We really need to try to work things out, Sara.''

''You nearly got us killed by your anger.'' I pointed out furiously, ''I heavily doubt that we'll just 'work things out', Uncle Kion.''

''I know, but let's talk about that after we get these two to King Sokwe.'' He said as we continued walking.

When they began walking forward, Fuli came over while Makini was taking a small nap.

''You need to try to forgive him, Sara.'' She said as I scoffed, ''He didn't mean for that to happen.''

''Yeah, but that nearly hurt or even killed us.'' I sighed, ''I hate to be the grouchy and serious one in the room, considering how laid back my dad is, but he needs to learn how to control the roar better.''

"Okay, Shujaa." Fuli replied with a smirk at my blinking at the saying of my dad's name, "You're one to talk about royal control."

"But I'm not my-"

"Dad?" She asked before stopping me in my tracks, "Look at me."

Reluctantly, I did so as the cheetah smiled.

"I've known your old man for just about a year now and I guarantee he'd be proud if you both reconciled with Kion and completed this mission." Fuli explained before giggling, "Besides, Shujaa's easy to be proud and impressed."

However, we were stopped when a giant snowball came down towards us, having sucked the princes and rest of the guard into it, making it even larger as it slowly grew. I slowly looked to Fuli.

"Should we run…?" I asked her and she did a fearful laugh.

"Yes…" She replied before turning around, "Yes we should."

She immediately bolted off as I scratched Makini's mane to wake her up, which I managed to do before running after Fuli.

"Sara, what's going on!?" She shouted before seeing the snowball, making a shocked sound, "I'm going to be your guide for this!"

"You've never been here either!" I reminded her as I kept my eyes ahead.

"It's worth a try!" She pleaded, causing me to sigh and shout to Fuli.

"Fuli, Makini is going to help with directions!" I yelled before speeding up.

"Okay!" She shouted back.

* * *

We, thankfully, managed to get out of the way of the large snowball, which was shot into the air by a curved rock formation before exploding, sending everyone in different parts of the area, but sending my Uncle off the cliff, causing me to scream.

"UNCLE KION!" I screamed in horror as I quickly grabbed his paw, but was evidently not strong enough to hold him for long, "I'm sorry for how distant I was, I don't want to lose you now!"

"We're gonna need to work together on this, Sarabi!" He said before trying to climb up the cliff, "Pull with all of your strength!"

As I did and he got closer up, I lost my grip, causing him to fall, though thankfully, the Gorilla princes caught him and pulled him up. When he got to us, I ran over and nuzzled him, which he did as well.

"Does this mean we can reconcile?" He asked with a smirk.

"One step at a time, Uncle." I replied jokingly before we walked towards the top.

 **PART ONE OF 2!**

 **Next: After the snowball incident, Sara and her friends continue on their trek up the mountains, but when Janja and his goons pop up, Sara will have a chance to redeem herself by facing Janja...alone.**


End file.
